As the Lightbringer reached its peak, illuminating Eventide with its brilliant glow, silence reigned over the area that once carried the industrial city known as BoneHaven.
Barely anything remained now, mostly scorched earth in the crater that spanned the entirety of the city.
The only structures that survived the destruction were the underground precinct of the D.O.D. and the Catacomb.
It was easy to guess why considering both had something in common.
They were made with Quillion, the same material that absorbed aether.
The Catacomb was even more undamaged since anti-magic runes were imbued in its walls.
However, that was beside the point as currently standing at the center of that once glorious city were two... people.
One, a monstrosity with a human appearance, and on the other end, a masked man wearing a dirty brown jacket.
’This is dangerous.’ Alex thought inwardly as he stared at the unmoving Basar.
The latter had managed to pinpoint his situation with no problems, obviously because of his sight.
He wondered how he was to deal with such a menace.
’I can sense he’s more dangerous now than back then.’ which meant the plans he had made to take care of Basar back then wouldn’t work anymore.
He had to rethink his strategies but would Basar be so kind as to allow him to think?
Alex watched as his surroundings distorted.
It wasn’t just mere distortion, it was at a level where reality was being changed to fit Basar’s will.
’Or not...’ Alex remained calm despite the overwhelming power shown.
Taking a look at the revolver he held, it was common sense that normal bullets won’t work anymore.
Alex took a deep breath and immediately snapped his fingers, disappearing from his position.
The next moment, that area cracked like a glass mirror before shattering into pieces.
Appearing several meters away, Alex aimed his gun at Basar and shot with precision.
Instead of a normal bullet, one made of both aspects of his domain was fired, glowing both black and white as it traveled at speeds double that of sound.
Basar remained unfazed as one of his eyes blinked and the next moment, the bullet was sent in a different direction.
"Mr. Hunter, I implore you to not resist. It would be better for both of us."
Alex frowned. "This is troublesome."
Without hesitation, he attacked again, snapping his fingers repeatedly while firing shots at Basar.
The latter remained in place, redirecting each shot while waiting for the right time to strike... and an opportunity soon revealed itself.
Basar turned in the direction Alex appeared in and opened his palm, revealing an eye.
As it flashed, Alex went blind and for a moment, remained still in midair.
Basar grinned as he opened his other palm, revealing an eye on that as well.
As it flashed, two portals appeared one before him and the other in front of Alex.
Reaching into the portal, he tried to grab Alex.
However, pulsating black and white was all that was left after he heard the familiar snap.
Just as Alex appeared behind him, one of Basar’s eyes on his head flashed and he froze.
Slowly but surely, Alex began to calcify from the feet up.
"Mr. Hunter... Why must you struggle?" Basar questioned in a mocking tone.
His mouth shifted from the front to the back, revealing its twisted smile and its razor-sharp teeth.
"I can see you coming from a mile away. No matter how fast you are or how much you try to improvise, I can see everything. Nothing is hidden under my vision."
"Interesting." Alex calmly replied despite the calcification reaching his knees.
Panicking would only make matters worse so he chose to remain coolheaded.
It was a fact that their powers were ill-fit for one another.
Compatibility was in Basar’s favor and if things remained the way they were, it would only be a matter of time before Alex was devoured.
Of course, the keyword was if it remained the way they were.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Alex’s lips as he remarked.
"It should be coming up anytime... now."
Basar stumbled back in shock as darkness erupted from Alex’s shadow.
At the same time, a blinding light flashed, stripping Basar of his superior vision.
By the time he understood what was happening, Basar realized that his hand was cut by a being that looked like Alex but was covered in swirling shadows.
"What is this?... What’s going on?" In a panic, Basar flailed around like a lost child.
The light and darkness he saw moved too quickly for him to react, leaving him flustered as a result.
Before he could recover, a blinding light filled his vision yet again, ensuring that his Miracle was not triggered.
Like that, Basar was cut up like mincemeat with his body parts sent flying in different directions.
The numerous eyes on Basar’s head were filled with disbelief at how easily they were beaten.
"How?... How did this happen?"
In his shock, Basar did not realize that the two versions of Alex, one moon and the other shadow, were staring at him with a hint of annoyance.
Even with dismemberment, Basar remained alive.
"What to do?" Moon muttered.
He already tried purification but it wasn’t strong enough to erase Basar, leaving him with barely any options.
"How about I cut him up some more?" Shadow inquired as a twisted smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"No, that won’t work. We need to..."
Both Alex’s stopped talking upon realizing that Basar had stopped speaking at some point.
All his eyes had gone blank and for some reason, the pungent smell his body held was growing and what’s more, at a terrifying rate.
"Something is happening."
An explosion of wind sent debris flying every which way, catching Alex off guard.
However, that wasn’t the worst part as he had to watch Basar’s body recombine in a fraction of a second, not even giving him a chance to stop this.
But that was not the end of it as the parts merged bizarrely, resulting in an amorphous mass of flesh that grew at a rapid rate.
Both Moon and Shadow were left speechless and unable to move as terrifying voices assaulted their psyche.
This was even worse than the Abyss... for a second, Alex wondered if there was something greater than the Abyss somewhere, out there.
Hardly had he gotten such a thought when his two halves were forced to rejoin again.
Feeling disoriented, Alex could do nothing as several tentacles emerged from the amorphous mass and charged at him.
Before they could hit, however, darkness erupted from his shadow once again and this time... it was boundless.